Relationships matter to us. How we interact with others and with the world around us is important. Where we have a relationship, it is important that we feel valued and the same applies when we talk to organisations about personal matters. Aside from health, our homes are the most personal things to us. So when residents deal with their landlord, especially a social housing landlord, they expect the relationship to matter and the history between them to be known and understood. Personalising the service using IT automation is paramount.
How can technology help?
Integrate your contact centre with your CRM system and asset database
The starting point for personalisation is to integrate your customer service centre with your CRM system and with other databases that hold asset or service information. This ensures advisors can screen-pop the tenant’s details when they make contact – and your advisors know them, their history and their property inside out.
Advisors should also be able to see a history of all previous interactions in one place, and have ready access to an appropriate knowledge base so that they can quickly resolve your tenant’s problem.
The use of dynamic call flow navigation (DCFN) technology enables the right information to be accessed when handling the call. CRM systems hold all manner of information, but advisors don’t need all the information all the time. DCFN technology is useful because it focuses on the bits that are relevant to the current call.
Value your tenant’s time, and don’t waste it!
Another way to personalise and improve the tenant’s experience is to understand the value of their time, and not waste it! Don’t ask for information that is already available or the tenant has previously provided. By keeping track of your contact with tenants (from how often they call to recent requests and complaints), you can deliver a truly personal experience.
Your advisors will be able to talk to them about previous contacts they have made, as well as make sure that any complaints have been dealt with and responded to in the appropriate manner.
CRM systems allow advisors to gain access to tenant information, while using DCFN interfaced with CRM puts advisors in control from the outset.
As well as having access to relevant information without needing to question the tenant, advisors will be better equipped to respond to a complaint or take a call to a successful conclusion. Rather than allowing tenants to be passed from pillar to post, DCFN technology can guide call handling to determine the appropriate service response.
Empower your front-line staff
The key to successful personalisation and creating a great customer experience is making each tenant feel valued as an individual.
Technology can be a great enabler here, but it is vital that your contact centre technology provider gives you the flexibility to adapt and keep pace with tenants’ preferences. With DCFN technology, call navigation pathways are in the hands of customer services and not dependent on IT, so they can be quickly and easily updated, encouraging improvement and innovation.
Focus on metrics such as first-call resolution
It’s important to track how you are performing too. Make sure your contact centre KPIs reflect the importance you place on personalisation by focusing on metrics like first-call resolution and avoidable calls.
With DCFN technology, advisors are provided with the guidance of experts. This can be compared to the most experienced specialist from each department sitting with each advisor, prompting and guiding them through each call, while checking all the relevant information across a number of different systems. The outcome being that the caller is given the right answer for them every time.
Overlaid on your existing housing management, CRM and repair management systems, DCFN systems make it possible to define the optimum call flow for each type of call. It automatically takes into account the best way for the caller to convey information that reflects their personal circumstance and the necessary information needed to determine the correct response. In simple terms, it aligns the needs of the tenant with the operational needs of the contact centre.
Peter Graddon is the managing director of Omfax Systems.
